Persuasive Essay On Charter Schools

Teachers shape the minds of students to realize what their purpose is in life. Lately, because of certain educational reforms, it has been hard for teachers to say what they need to say. “In 40-plus states, the math and English guidelines determine the knowledge students have to master by the end of each grade, what they’ll be tested on this year, and in many cases, how teachers and principals will be rated at their jobs once those test scores are released” (Strauss). Most educational reforms are adopting standardized testing and should be reconsidered. Statistics even show that since we have taken part in reforms like No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Common Core State Standards math and reading are declining. These standards tell teachers what to teach and what the students should know by the end of the school year. The reforms also evaluate teacher performance by how well the students learn the information. Some people believe educational reforms should not be telling teachers how to teach their students, and others believe that the reforms are absolutely fine the way they are. However the truth is educational reforms are yet to be perfected.

Are charter schools the right choice to the educational needs of our children? Charter schools are tuition free public schools created and operated by parents, organizations, and community groups to fill student’s educational needs. Charter schools consider educating their students as the priority, and identify how children’s learning needs are different from each other, so they came up with different ways on educating their students such as learning in small groups, or by participating in hands on learning. Along with their unique programs such as art, math, and science, charter schools are also the stronger academic choice for students. Parents should consider charter schools for their children’s

Chicago charter high school has a higher standard of education and curriculum for students and to a pathway to early collage. The Three main points that I will be explaining in this essay are: Charter schools benefits students and help students achieve by improving academic performance and results through specific charters. As schools operating outside of the traditional public school system, charter schools could provide more flexibility and improved leaning environment as well individualized choices or pathways for students. The Charter schools provide choices for families that are educational. It improves specific curriculum ideas and makes teachers have more balance in their work. The thesis statement states the essay’s main argument

Furthermore, focus is critical to the student’s ability to succeed and the charter’s ability to educate its students. With special attention, the school can demonstrate a comprehensive strategy stressing a field of study, such as technical or artistic disciplines. In this way, getting students ready for the real world, gears them up for college, sets them up for continued success. "The charter schools' superiority was greater in states where they had been in existence longer and enrolled more students." ("The Charter Advantage," 2005) A school’s assertive actions can weed out teachers who are not performing adequately. Teachers must be able to teach in a way (not necessarily mainstream) that instructs, inspires, and motivates students to excel. Charter schools have the ability to do that. Students may not have the same abilities or interests, but the teacher must allow the student’s

School funding is a mix of different funding sources like federal, state, and local. About ninety percent of funding for education comes from state and local community. K-12 education has failed to keep up with high enrollment. Schools must spend to counter effects of poverty while many European countries alleviate these conditions through government spending. Currently more than forty percent of low income school get an extremely unfair share of state and local funds. Low income school are receiving inadequate funds for their school, whereas other schools in the United States are unfairly distributing their state and local funds. That is unfair to the low income schools because those schools really need the money for school books, field trips, etc. Funding for public schools has been quite unequal for years, but even though Americans are fully aware of this issue no one does anything to solve it. Researchers are trying to show them both sides of this unequal funding issue in public schools in order to help balance the distribution of educational funding.

Charter schools are unique public schools that is allowed the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. These charter schools are not private schools, they do not charge for tuition and they are open to all children within specific boundaries. Research has demonstrated that charter schools make picks up in the urban community with students who have veritably been undeserved by traditional state funded schools. Charter schools outscored their traditional school peers in 25 of the 41 cities in math, and 23 of the 42 cities in reading. On average, charter schools had no significant impacts on student’s achievement. Charter schools help enhance student learning, empower the utilization of new and imaginative educating strategies, and give schools an approach to move from a lead based to an execution based arrangement of responsibility. Public schools are like charter schools except for the freedom that a charter school has. And private school is based on tuition and that is funded by charities and tax holders in that community.

Charter schools are aimed at giving parents and educators greater freedom to design an educational program aimed at increasing student achievement, accounting for greater freedom of contract between not only parent and school but also school and state.

According to Atila Abdulkadiroglu, many have adopted a “No Excuses” policy which is generally characterized by smaller sized classrooms, frequent testing, longer school days and more school days in the year, selective teacher hiring, strong student work ethic, and include an increased emphasis on discipline (Abdulkadiroglu 699-700). Charter Schools also expect a certain amount of parent participation: either in-classroom assistance, being an active component in the Parent-Teacher Organization, volunteering assistance with fund-raising activities, or wherever else the school may have need. Therefore, sending a child to a Charter School usually requires a significant investment of time and effort from the parents as well: for example, the school may not be able to provide transportation, hot lunches (meaning lunch must be packed every day), and whatever the school may expect in parent participation. Entrance into many of these acclaimed Charter Schools is not always that easy. There are frequently many, many students applying for just a few spots available. These schools typically employ a lottery system which gives each student an equal chance; however, there are just not enough spots available for all the students who wish to attend—someone always loses. In comparison, Public Schools are restricted by a massive hierarchy of educational bureaucracy: they must answer to

Why choose to go to Charter School rather than public school? Charter schools are public school of choice, meaning families choose for their children. Federal legislation provides grants to help charters to manage start-up costs. They create better educational opportunities for the students therefore they have higher expectations in teaching. Charter Schools and zoned (public) schools are tuition free but unfortunately not everyone can get in to Charter school, since it works by lottery. Everyone has the opportunity to apply and has a choice to attend Charlet School if the students are lucky enough to get in. Charter schools are more effective for three reasons: they have higher graduation rates, teachers are more prepared and devoted to their students, and teachers take a greater responsibility for their students as they compete against Zoned Schools.

Charter schools differ from traditional public schools on three basic principles: accountability, choice and autonomy. Charter schools are held accountable for their ability to educate students, management of finances and handle operations. If they do not meet the guidelines established by the charter they are closed. They give families a choice as to what school their children will attend. Finally, charter schools have more autonomy than traditional public schools. They are able to make their own decisions regarding curriculum and school governance and can focus on academic achievement instead of bureaucracy. (“Resistance Hinders Success,” 2004)

Charter schools are all the buzz in the media lately; they are what seems to be the sensible response to the path traditional public schools are heading, down the drain. However, charter schools still face many obstacles and issues, stemming from the fact that they are far less regulated than their public school counterparts. This enacts issues including lack of quality control, increased segregation, and severe misuse of funds. Likewise, charter schools are only going to become increasingly more competitive and higher quality if their closest competitors follow that path, meaning the most successful charters are the ones compared directly to private schools. Since charters are also attempting to make a profit, they will go to all extents, including discrimination to bring up the scores, and therefore gain more leverage in negotiating for more funds. Simply enough, the most logical and simple way to prevent charter schools from degrading in quality or becoming out of control is to put more regulation on them, while still allowing them to maintain many characteristics of an independent charter.

One of the reasons we consider or support charter schools is there is good chance that it could be one the things that will improve student's education achievements. Lots parents believe that it has enormous potential to improve achievement. We have seen that the competition

According to the documentary, a bad teacher covers only fifty percent of the assigned curriculum, compared to effective teachers who can teach up to one hundred and fifty percent of the assigned curriculum (Guggenheim & Chilcott, 2010). Sadly, more and more teachers have lost the passion to teach. Some of them may even be in the profession simply because it pays. Well, charter schools employ many passionate teachers who truly care for the students’ well-being. These teachers are equipped and trained to give the students their all, providing one-on-one mentoring to students that are falling behind, making sure that students get caught up with the curriculum, giving them hope and a promising future. Since children attending school spend most of their time inside a classroom, teachers in charter schools take advantage of this opportunity and utilize as much time afforded to them to instill positive values, goals, and dreams that students can aspire to. This is not to say that there are no passionate teachers in the public sector, this is simply highlighting what charter schools have to offer.

Education is a very important part of a person’s life. Every parent want the best thing for their children. They want their children to be happy and to be able to achieve their dreams and be what they want to be, which is why they want the best education for their children. Because, almost everyone would agree that being well – educated is the closest way to success life and good future. But, their desire to send their kids to the best school have to face many obstacles. One of these obstacles would be choosing school for their kids. In the U.S., there are three types of school: public school, charter school and private school. Private schools are usually very selective, has better performance than government-funded school and has expensive tuition fee. Rich families would send their kids to private schools because they could afford the expense. However, for a normal family, paying the expense for private schools would be overwhelming. So, there options are narrowed between charter schools and public schools. There have been many debates on whether charter schools or public schools provide students with better education. But, there are obvious evidences that charter schools are generally better than public schools:

Many charter schools are known for their rigorous programs that challenge students to fulfill specific requirements that are different from traditional schools. Charter schools also value the idea of cultivating students with a talent for arts, technology or music (Chen). Institutions such as charter schools may be viewed as open or loosely constructed based on the unique guidelines displayed in each school’s charter, but in reality this is untrue because the individuality of each charter is what allows each student to excel based on the personalization and attention given to every single student who attends. A charter school has the potential to reach out into the community and help children who are not able to fit in at a traditional public school and it may allow the student to learn from a new perspective. Any child is allowed to apply to a charter school and they are admitted on a first-come, first served basis or through a lottery. The decision is not made on race or sex of the child and there is a fair chance for every student. A charter school is a great alternative to private school because there is no tuition fee at a charter school which is run by the state. Operators of the charter schools are able to provide children with a school that will create new and improved services which are lacking in the public school districts (“Charter School FAQ”). A charter school can also help